CN101980530B - Systems and methods for commerce in media program related merchandise - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to systems and methods for media programming related merchandise. The disclosed technology provides systems and methods for delivering media programs and purchasing opportunities related to the media programs to user devices. Media programs and their associated merchandise information may be located at a distribution facility. The distribution facility may customize the purchasing opportunities that the distribution facility provides to the user equipment based on the equipment category of the user equipment. When a user device receives a purchase opportunity, the user device may select the purchase opportunity based on the type of merchandise supported by the user device. The user equipment and/or distribution facility is capable of determining the location of the user equipment. When the distribution facility provides item information for physical items to a user device, the item information may be selected to include physical items that are available, for example, at stores near the location of the user device.

Description

Systems and methods for media programming related merchandise

This application is a divisional application based on the patent application with the application number 200680049725.3, the application date is December 12, 2006, and the invention title is "system and method for media program-related commodities".

technical field

The disclosed technology generally relates to a media program, and more particularly to providing a user of a media program with an opportunity to preview, purchase, and/or obtain more information on merchandise related to the media program.

Background technique

Consumer electronic devices are becoming more multifunctional and capable of interacting with more media formats and programming. For example, hand-held/pocket PCs, cellular mobile phones, computers and televisions are currently capable of accessing and playing digital music and video, surfing the web and/or playing video games. In particular, user devices and equipment are currently able to access media content and programming that have historically only been accessed by very specific types of devices. The expansion of media content and programming to many different types of user equipment can potentially reach larger and broader audiences. The trend towards greater accessibility of media content is an area of potentially larger merchandise-related commerce, as media content has spawned an entire media merchandise-related industry.

However, despite the increasing multifunctional nature of user equipment, many types of user equipment maintain advantageous features that allow users to enjoy capabilities that other types of user equipment cannot provide to the same degree. For example, cellular mobile telephones enable users to enjoy high-fidelity human-to-human communication capabilities more than users of other types of devices. As another example, users of personal computers are more able to enjoy stunning, high-definition video games than users of other types of devices. Thus, although user equipment has become more versatile, there are still significant differences between the performance of different types of user equipment.

While there may be benefits of reaching a larger audience through accessibility of media content and programming, there is the added problem of affecting users who do not have the same device/equipment capabilities. Therefore, there is growing interest in demonstrating the benefits of increased media access while addressing this added problem.

Contents of the invention

The disclosed technology relates to media programs and merchandise related to the media programs. A media program may be a video program, an audio program, a game show, Web content, or another suitable form of media. Merchandise related to media programming can be created and made available to users. Goods may be electronic goods (eg, ringtones, wallpapers, screensavers, user interface skins), or physical goods (eg, CDs, DVDs, posters, board games). As an example, if the media program is a movie, electronic merchandise related to the movie may include a phone ringtone showing the movie's theme music, computer wallpaper showing the movie's characters, a screensaver showing clips or scenes from the movie, showing Themed colors or user interface skins showing images of the movie or computer games based on the movie, while physical merchandise related to the movie may include a CD soundtrack of the movie, posters showing the characters of the movie, or a board game based on the movie.

When a user is enjoying a media program on a user device (e.g., television and set-top box, computer, cellular phone), or after the user has been presented with the media program, the user device may present the user with previews, purchases, and/or viewing An opportunity for more information on some related merchandise. In general, user equipment may present a user with an opportunity to purchase electronic merchandise related to a media program. The user device may also present the user with an opportunity to view more information about the physical item. In this way, if a user is interested in a product related to a media program, the user can immediately preview, purchase or view more information about the product without spending more time looking for the product elsewhere.

In one aspect of the invention, multiple users may access media programming from different user devices, and different purchasing opportunities may arise based on the capabilities of the different devices. In order to ensure that user equipment is not overwhelmed by irrelevant purchase opportunities, purchase opportunities related to media programs can be customized for different types of user equipment, so that user equipment can present more relevant purchase opportunities. In one embodiment, the buying opportunities delivered to user devices may be customized, for example, by selecting buying opportunities applicable to a class of user devices.

In one embodiment, the distribution facility may be utilized to customize purchasing opportunities associated with media programming. The distribution facility can customize buying opportunities based on the specific type of user equipment receiving the opportunity. For example, both a computer and a cellular phone can access episodes of the TV series "Desperate Housewives." The distribution facility may provide the computer with an opportunity to purchase wallpaper for the computer's display. On the other hand, a distribution facility may provide cellular mobile phones with the opportunity to purchase ring tones for the handset. In this manner, the distribution facility may provide different purchasing opportunities for different user devices accessing the same media program.

In one embodiment, a user device may determine buying opportunities relevant to it to customize its buying opportunities. For example, the distribution facility may provide wallpaper purchase opportunities in various wallpaper resolutions for all types of user devices accessing episodes of "Desperate Housewives." If the computer device receives the buying opportunity, the computer may determine that the cellular phone wallpaper resolution is not supported, and only maintain the computer resolution wallpaper buying opportunity. On the other hand, if the cellular phone receives the buying opportunity, the cellular phone may determine that the computer wallpaper resolution is not supported, and may simply maintain the cellular phone resolution wallpaper buying opportunity. Accordingly, a user device may customize its purchase opportunities by, for example, selecting a purchase opportunity based on its applicability to the user device. In one embodiment, a user device may customize its purchase opportunities by based on their applicability to the category of user device to which the user device belongs.

Accordingly, in one aspect of the disclosed technology, systems and methods are provided for delivering merchandise information for a media program and merchandise related to the media program to a user device. The media program may reside on a network server or other host/distribution device that may receive requests for the media program and deliver the media program to the user device. User equipment may include, for example, a television, set-top box, digital video recorder (DVR), desktop computer, laptop computer, hand/pocket PC, personal digital assistant, cellular phone, or digital music player.

In one aspect of the invention, a server/distribution device may contain merchandise information for a media program and merchandise associated with the media program. Products can include specialized products related to media programming, such as ringtones, wallpapers, screensavers, audio scores, video episodes, computer games, or user interface skins. Additionally, the merchandise may be characterized as an electronic merchandise (eg, MP3 music file) or a physical merchandise (eg, music CD).

The server/distribution system may maintain a table of categories of user equipment, where each category is associated with item information. For example, the category may be commodity information for computer equipment, commodity information for cellular mobile phone equipment, or commodity information for DVR equipment. When the server/distribution system receives a request for a media program, the server/distribution system can determine which type or types of user equipment are suitable for providing the requested user equipment. In one embodiment, when a user equipment provides a request for a media program to the server/distribution system, the user equipment may also indicate the category of user equipment to which the user equipment belongs. Based on this indication, the server/distribution system may select one or more types of user equipment from the table. The server/distribution system can provide merchandise information associated with the selected category to the user device. The server/distribution system may include a processor for executing machine instructions and a memory containing the machine instructions. The server/dispenser system is operable at least in part using the processor and machine instructions.

A server/distribution system may receive multiple requests for a particular media program from different user devices. For each request, the server/distribution system may provide different item information to different user devices. The user equipment may be television equipment, computer equipment and mobile user equipment. The server/distribution system may provide merchandise information for ringtones to the user equipment if the user equipment is requested to include the telephony application.

In one aspect of the invention, a user may be interested in finding places where physical merchandise related to a media program can be purchased. The dispensing facility or user equipment may display information to the user about the locations where such goods are purchased, and in one embodiment, the information may only include purchase locations near the user's location. For example, a user on a cellular phone may access an episode of "Desperate Housewives" and may be interested in finding places where posters related to the show can be purchased. If a nearby store sells the poster, the cellular phone or distribution facility can inform the user of the location of the nearby store.

In one aspect of the invention, the server/distribution system may contain merchandise information for physical merchandise associated with a media program. When the server/distribution system receives a user request for a media program, the server/distribution system can determine the location of the user device. The server/distribution system may determine the location by requesting the location from the user device and/or by determining the location using location triangulation. A server/distribution system may contain one or more location criteria. For example, location criteria may require that a physically located item have the same zip code as the user device, or be within a certain distance radius of the user device. Based on the location criteria and the location of the user equipment, the server/distribution system may only provide item information that meets the location criteria. The media programming and merchandise information may be provided to user equipment. The server/distribution system may periodically relocate the user equipment.

In one aspect of the invention, a user device may receive a requested media program and merchandise information for merchandise related to the media program. The merchandise may be a specialized merchandise such as ringtones, wallpapers, screensavers, user interface skins, computer games, RealPlayer ^™ soundtracks, or MPEG video. In one embodiment, the user device may store received merchandise information based on determining whether it supports the dedicated merchandise.

In one embodiment, a user device with an interactive program guide may provide the user with purchasing opportunities through the program guide. The user device may notify the user of the purchase opportunity along with a program listing or program description area of the interactive program guide. The notification may be provided before, during and/or after the broadcast of the media program.

In one embodiment, a user device may present a media program and may provide a purchase opportunity during display of the media program or at the end of the media program. In one embodiment, merchandise related to a media program may be associated with a specific elapsed time of the media program. This specific elapsed time may be stored in the item information of the item. When the user equipment is presenting the media program, the user equipment can keep an eye on the elapsed time of the media program. When the elapsed time exceeds the specific exceeding time in the commodity information, the user equipment may provide a purchase opportunity associated with the commodity information. In one embodiment, the user device may provide this purchase opportunity by displaying a notification to the user. The notification may be a vibration of the user equipment if the user equipment supports a vibration feature, such as a vibration feature on a cellular phone.

After providing the notification, the user device may provide a time interval for the user to express interest in the purchasing opportunity. If the user device receives an indication during this time interval, the user device may display an interactive overlay that provides information about the item and options to preview the item, purchase the item, or leave the overlay display. If the user equipment receives an instruction to preview or purchase an electronic commodity, the user equipment may access the commodity based on the electronic address within the commodity information of the commodity.

In one aspect of the invention, user equipment may provide purchase information for physical goods associated with a media program. In one embodiment, purchase information may be displayed within the advertisement. In one embodiment, purchase information may be displayed within the advertisement notification. In one embodiment, purchasing information may be displayed in the advertising area of the interactive program guide.

Other features of the invention, its nature and various advantages will be apparent from the accompanying drawings and the following detailed description of various embodiments.

Description of drawings

1 is an illustration of exemplary user television equipment presenting media programming;

2 is an illustration of exemplary user television equipment displaying purchasing opportunities;

3 is an illustration of an exemplary user computer device presenting a media program;

FIG. 4 is an illustration of an exemplary user computer device displaying purchasing opportunities;

5A is an illustration of an exemplary mobile user equipment presenting a media program;

5B is an illustration of an additional exemplary mobile user equipment presenting a media program;

6 is an illustration of an exemplary mobile user device displaying a purchase opportunity;

Figure 7 is a block diagram of exemplary applications and components in one embodiment of user equipment;

8 is a block diagram of an exemplary configuration for storing media programming, merchandise information, and related merchandise;

Figure 9 is a diagram of one embodiment of an item information data structure;

Figure 10 is an illustration of an exemplary configuration for maintaining and organizing merchandise information;

11 is a block diagram of an exemplary table of user equipment categories;

Figure 12 is a block diagram of an exemplary table of manufacturer-specific user equipment categories;

13A is a flowchart of example operations for accessing and providing merchandise information based on user device category;

13B is a flowchart of example operations for accessing and providing merchandise information based on supported applications;

14 is a flowchart of exemplary user equipment operations for receiving and maintaining merchandise information;

Figure 15 is an exemplary screen display indicating that operations related to a media program are available;

16A is a block diagram of exemplary user equipment components;

Figure 16B is a block diagram of another embodiment of an exemplary user equipment component;

17 is a flowchart of exemplary user equipment operations for informing a user of available merchandise associated with a media program;

18A is an exemplary display screen indicating that merchandise related to a media program is available;

18B is a flowchart of exemplary user equipment operations for informing a user of available merchandise associated with a media program;

19A is an illustration of an on-screen display of an exemplary interactive program guide for a larger display screen;

19B is an illustration of an on-screen display of an exemplary interactive program guide for a smaller display screen;

20 is an illustration of an example location determination technique;

FIG. 21A is a block diagram of an exemplary configuration for organizing merchandise information;

Figure 21B is a block diagram of exemplary location-specific listing information;

22 is a flow diagram of an exemplary media programming source operation for delivering merchandise information to a user device;

23 is a flowchart of exemplary user equipment operations for requesting merchandise information;

24A is an exemplary screen display indicating that an advertisement is available for merchandise related to a media program;

Figure 24B is an exemplary screen display of a sponsored advertisement;

24C is an illustration of an on-screen display of an exemplary interactive program guide with advertising areas;

Figure 25 is an exemplary screen display that provides a description of an item and presents a user with an opportunity to purchase;

FIG. 26 is an exemplary screen display providing a description of an item to a user;

27 is a block diagram of an exemplary interactive media guidance system;

28 is a schematic diagram of an exemplary remote control device; and

29 is a block diagram of an exemplary user equipment.

Detailed ways

The amount of media available to users within any media delivery system can be very large. Accordingly, many users desire a form of media guidance, an interface that allows users to efficiently navigate media selections and easily identify their desired media. Applications that provide such guidance are referred to herein as interactive media guidance applications or sometimes guidance applications.

Interactive media guidance applications can take many forms depending on the media for which they provide guidance. A typical media guidance application is an interactive television program guide. Interactive television program guides are well known guidance applications that, among other things, allow users to navigate and locate television programming viewing options, and in some systems, determine digital music selections. Television programming (and music programming) may be provided via conventional broadcast, cable, satellite, Internet or any other communication technology. Programs may be offered on a subscription basis (sometimes referred to as premium programming) as pay-per-view or on-demand, such as video-on-demand (VOD) systems.

With the advent of the Internet, mobile computing, and high-speed wireless networks, users are able to access media on personal computers (PCs) and traditionally disparate devices. Non-television-centric platforms (i.e., platforms that communicate media with devices that are not part of the user's broadcast, cable, or satellite television delivery network) allow the user to display video clips, full-motion video (which may include television programming), images, Navigate and locate music files and other suitable media. Therefore, media guidelines are also required on modern non-TV-centric platforms. For example, a media guidance application may be provided as an online application (ie, provided on a website), or as a stand-alone application or client on a handheld computer, personal digital assistant (PDA), or cellular phone. In some systems, a user can remotely control the device via a media guidance application. For example, a user may access an online media guide on a home device and set recording or other settings thereon. This can be achieved by controlling the user equipment's online guide either directly or via another media guide running on the user equipment. Remote access to interactive media guidance applications is described in detail in US Patent Application Serial No. 11/246,392, filed October 7, 2005, which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.

According to one aspect of the invention, aspects and embodiments of the invention described herein may be provided in part or in whole within or through an interactive program guide. As noted above, the interactive program guide may reside on the user equipment, or may be an online/networked interactive program guide.

According to one aspect of the present invention, media programs residing on the server/distribution device are accessible by television user equipment and non-television-centric user equipment such as computer equipment and mobile user equipment (eg, cellular phones). Media programming may include video programming (e.g., movies, television shows, music videos, news, live or replay recordings), audio programming (e.g., music, radio broadcasts, news, live or rebroadcast recordings), computer game shows, web content or another suitable form of media.

According to one aspect of the invention, merchandise associated with a media program can be generated and made available to a user. Goods may be electronic goods (eg, ringtones, wallpapers, screensavers, user interface skins) or physical goods (eg, CDs, DVDs, posters, board games). As an example, if the media program is a movie, electronic merchandise related to the movie may include a ringtone showing the movie's theme song, computer wallpaper showing the movie's characters, a screensaver showing clips or scenes from the movie, showing theme colors or user interface skins showing images of the movie, or a computer game based on the movie, while physical merchandise related to the movie could include a soundtrack CD, posters showing the movie's characters, or a computer game based on the movie. board game.

User equipment (eg, televisions and set-top boxes, computers, cellular phones) may present users with opportunities to preview, purchase, and/or obtain more information about merchandise associated with a media program. In general, user equipment may present a user with an opportunity to purchase electronic merchandise related to a media program. The user device may also present the user with an opportunity to obtain more information about the physical item. In this way, if the user is interested in a product related to the media program, the user can immediately preview, purchase or obtain more information about the product while enjoying the media program, instead of spending extra time locating the product elsewhere thereafter. As used herein, the term "purchase opportunity" refers to an opportunity for a user to view more information about the item, preview the item, or purchase the item. The process of providing a user with a purchasing opportunity may include a number of operations, including, in one embodiment, accessing item information for an item.

Media programs and their associated merchandise information may be located on a server/distribution facility. When the server/distribution facility receives a request for media decoding or merchandise information from a user device, the server/distribution facility may customize merchandise information to provide to the user device based on the device type of the user device. In this way, the server/distribution facility can efficiently provide item information of relevant items to the user device, rather than flooding the user device with irrelevant item information.

In one aspect of the present invention, when the user equipment receives commodity information, the user equipment can choose to keep all commodity information or a subset of commodity information based on the type of application supported by the user equipment. For example, a cellular telephone may receive merchandise information that may or may not be appropriate or applicable to a cellular telephone device. Even when user equipment receives merchandise information that is generally applicable or applicable to cellular mobile telephone devices, the merchandise information may still contain types of merchandise that are not supported by a particular make or model of cellular telephone. As an example, while cellular phones typically support custom ringtones, newer models of cellular phones may support ring tones while earlier model cellular phones may not.

In one aspect of the invention, a user may be interested in viewing information about physical items and where they are available for purchase. In one embodiment, the user equipment and/or the server and/or distribution facility may be able to determine the location of the user equipment. When the server/distribution facility provides item information for physical items to the user device, the item information may be selected to include only physical items available for purchase in stores near the location of the user device.

Referring now to FIG. 1, there is shown user television equipment located within a residence or other building or facility. The television equipment shown includes a television 102 in communication with a set top box 104, which may optionally include digital video recording capabilities. In general, set-top box 104 may include wireline technology 106 (e.g., cable, digital subscriber loop, fiber optics, telephone modem), satellite technology 108, and wireless technology 120 such as cellular technology (e.g., GSM), wireless LAN ( eg 802.11b/g) and Bluetooth, etc., to access media distribution facilities and servers (not shown). Set-top box 104 may receive media programming via wireline connection 106 , satellite connection 108 , and/or wireless connection 120 . The received media programs may be displayed on the television screen 112 and/or stored in a separate digital video recorder 104 . In one embodiment, a set-top box may be optional, and digital video recorder 114 may be connected directly to wireline connection 106 , satellite connection 108 and/or wireless connection 120 .

In the example shown, a user may watch reruns of episodes of the hit television series M ^* A ^* S ^* H. During commercial breaks or during or after the episode, the set top box 104 may inform the viewer that an "EXTRA" 116 associated with the episode of M ^* A ^* S ^* H is available. A user may indicate interest in an item, for example, by pressing a button on the remote control 110 . Referring to FIG. 2, when a user expresses interest in an item, the set-top box/DVR may display an item information screen 118 on the television screen to identify the item as available for download to the user's set-top box 104 or digital video recorder 114. A digitally remastered version of the entire first season of the show. This buying opportunity is available because the item is related to and supported by the user's set-top box/DVR device. Via selection options on screen 118, the user can choose to preview and/or purchase the re-mastered episodes of M ^* A ^* S ^* H, or leave the screen. In one variation of FIG. 1, a user may browse an interactive program guide (not shown) before, during or after watching an episode of M ^* A ^* S ^* H. The interactive program guide may inform the user of merchandise related to episodes of M ^* A ^* S ^* H. This variation is described in more detail below in connection with Figures 19A-19B.

As another example, FIG. 3 shows user computer equipment located within a residence or other building or facility. Computer 302 may connect to media programming sources via telephone modem, cable modem, digital subscriber loop technology, ISDN technology, WLAN (eg, 802.11b/g) or Bluetooth, or another available computer communication technology 304 . The computer may receive the media programming via communication connection 304 .

In the illustrated embodiment, a user can access and watch episodes of the same M ^* A ^* S ^* H on a computer screen 312 . During commercial breaks or during or after the season, computer 302 may inform the viewer that an "EXTRA" associated with the episode is available. The user may indicate interest in the item, for example, by clicking on screen icon 314 with mouse pointer 306 or by pressing a key on keyboard 310 . Referring now to FIG. 4, when a user expresses an interest in the product, the computer may display a product information screen 316 on the computer display screen to identify the product as a character based on the M ^* A ^* S ^* H television program presenting the program computer video game. This buying opportunity is available because the merchandise is related to and supported by the user computer device. By interacting with the options on this screen 316, the user may choose to preview and/or purchase the computer game, or leave the screen. In one variation of FIG. 3, a user may browse an interactive program guide (not shown) before, during, or after watching an episode of M ^* A ^* S ^* H. The interactive program guide can inform the user of merchandise related to the M ^* A ^* S ^* H episode. This variation will be described in more detail below in connection with Figures 19A-19B.

In another example, Figures 5A-5B illustrate a mobile user device that may conveniently travel with a user. The user equipment shown includes a cellular mobile phone 502, a hand-held/pocket PC 504, a laptop computer 506, a portable gaming system 530 (e.g., a Sony PSP), and a mobile or portable television viewing device 532, such as a location-free television tuner. television consumer electronics devices or in-vehicle entertainment systems. Each mobile user equipment may communicate with a media programming source (not shown) using a suitable communication technology such as cellular mobile communication technology, wireless LAN communication technology (eg, IEEE802.11b/g), Bluetooth communication technology or other technology 508 . Mobile user equipment may receive media programming via the communication technology.

In the example shown, a user of cellular phone 502 may access and watch episodes of the same M ^* A ^* S ^* H. During commercial breaks or during or after the episode, the cellular phone 502 may inform the viewer that an "EXTRA" associated with the episode is available. The notification may be an icon 528 on the display screen 510, or may be a phone vibration, which cellular mobile phones typically use to get the user's attention. The user may indicate interest in the item by, for example, pressing button 512 on the cellular phone. As shown in FIG. 6, when the user expresses interest in the item, the cellular phone may display an item information screen 522 on the phone screen to identify the item as a song-based ringtone. This buying opportunity is available because the item is associated with and supported by the user's cellular phone. By interacting with the options on this screen 512, the user may choose to preview and/or purchase the ringtone, or leave the screen.

Additionally, within the example shown in FIG. 5, the user of handheld PC 504 can access and watch the same M ^* A ^* S ^* H episodes. During commercial breaks or during or after the episode, the Handheld PC 504 may inform the user that an "EXTRA" associated with the episode is available. The notification may be an icon 528 on the display screen 514 as described herein. The user may indicate interest in the item by, for example, pressing button 516 on handheld PC 504 . As shown in Figure 6, when the user expresses interest in the item, the handheld PC can display an item information screen 524 on the display to identify the item as a wallpaper showing characters from the M ^* A ^* S ^* H show . This buying opportunity is available because the item is related to and supported by the user's Pocket PC device. By interacting with the options on this screen 524, the user can choose to preview and/or purchase the wallpaper, or leave the screen.

Also within the example shown in FIG. 5, a user of laptop computer 506 may access and watch episodes of the same M ^* A ^* S ^* H. During commercial breaks or during or after the episode, laptop 506 may inform the viewer that an "EXTRA" associated with the movie is available. The notification may be an icon 528 on the display screen 518 as described herein. The user may indicate interest in the item by, for example, clicking on the icon with pointer 520 . As shown in FIG. 6, when the user expresses interest in the item, the laptop computer may display an item information screen 526 on the laptop screen to identify the item as being based on the M ^* A ^* S ^* H program. Character screensavers. This buying opportunity is available because the item is related to and supported by the user's laptop device. By interacting with the options on this screen 526, the user can choose to preview and/or purchase the screen saver, or leave the screen. The same type of operations described above in connection with FIG. 5A can also be applied to portable gaming system 530 and mobile or portable television viewing device 532 of FIG. 5B . Those embodiments are also conceivable. In addition, the purchase opportunity also includes the opportunity to purchase a user interface skin for user device interface display.

In one variation of FIG. 5, a user may browse an interactive program guide (not shown) before, during, or after watching an episode of M ^* A ^* S ^* H. The interactive program guide may inform the user of merchandise related to M ^* A ^* S ^* H episodes. This variation is described in more detail below in connection with Figures 19A-19B.

The following detailed description in conjunction with FIGS. 7-26 will illustrate exemplary components, operations and interactions of the server/distribution facility and user equipment.

Figure 7 illustrates exemplary components within exemplary user equipment, which may include a set-top box or DVR and television (Figure 1), computer equipment (Figure 3), and portable user equipment such as cellular phones, music/audio player, hand/pocket PC and/or PDA (Figure 5). As shown in FIG. 7, a user device 700 may contain many different types of applications, such as a telephony application 702, an audio playback application 706, a video playback application 704, a gaming application 708, a ringtone application 710, a screensaver application 712, and/or a wallpaper application. 714. Any application that includes a user interface display can include a custom user interface skin. Applications within the user device 700 may be implemented by a combination of hardware components and software instructions using a volume structure as shown in FIG. 29, the architecture will be explained later. FIG. 7 is exemplary, and an exemplary device embodiment need not encompass all of the applications shown in FIG. 7 . In different embodiments, user equipment may contain more or fewer applications than those shown in FIG. 7 . For example, a television device (FIG. 1) may not include phone application 702, and thus ringtone application 714 may not be included. Additionally, the pocket PC (504, FIG. 5) may not contain a screensaver application 712 since the pocket PC may turn off its screen to save power.

As previously described in conjunction with FIGS. 1-6 , user equipment may be connected via, for example, satellite, wireline, or wireless communication connections (106, 108, 120, FIG. 1 ), Internet connections (304, FIG. 3 ) and/or various wireless technologies ( 508, Figure 5) communicates with the server/distribution facility. The server may be located near the user equipment, such as a home server within a residence, or may be located remotely from the user equipment, such as a server at a server premises. The server/distribution facility machine operation and interaction with the surrounding network will be described in more detail later in conjunction with FIG. 27 .

According to one aspect of the invention and referring to FIG. 8, a server or distribution facility 802 may contain a media program 804 and merchandise information 806 for merchandise related to the media program. The server or distribution facility 802 may also contain merchandise 808 related to media programming, which may include specialized merchandise 812 such as video programming, audio programming, Web content, game programming, wallpapers, ringtones, user interface skins, and screensavers. Additionally, a service provider or another server 814 may contain merchandise 808 related to the media programming. As used herein, dedicated merchandise 812 refers to merchandise that is used in conjunction with specific applications, such as audio playback applications, video playback applications, gaming applications, screensaver applications, ringtone applications, and wallpaper applications. Examples of dedicated products include movies, soundtrack albums, user-interactive games, ringtones, wallpapers, UI skins, or screensavers. The application will be described in more detail below in conjunction with FIG. 9 .

Special merchandise according to the present invention can be related to a media program in a variety of ways. For example, if the media program has a viewable program, the exclusive merchandise may show clips or still images of scenes within the viewable program. Specific merchandise may be related to characters or themes within a media program. For example, exclusive merchandise may illustrate characters featured within the media program and/or may illustrate logos, trademarks, imprints, graphic program titles, themes for use within or in association with the media program and/or its broadcast station or products Graphic or other visual design. If a media program includes an audio program (e.g., instrumental, vocal, acoustic, speech, dialogue), then dedicated merchandise associated with that audio program may play audio presented by the speakers and/or performers within the audio program, or may play audio The theme song or logo sound of a program. Exclusive merchandise may play tunes that may not be copies of the audio program but are based on it.

Exclusive merchandise may be generated by programming sources and/or non-programming sources authorized to generate merchandise. For example, user equipment is often designed and manufactured by many different companies, and different user equipment may contain different applications. Thus, manufacturers may be more familiar than programming sources with generating application-based merchandise for use with specific user equipment. Third-party providers familiar with specific user equipment may also be more proficient in providing specialized merchandise for user equipment.

Referring again to FIG. 8, server/distribution facility 802 and/or service provider 814 may contain merchandise information 806 for merchandise associated with a media program. Merchandise information 806 may be generated by program sources and/or non-program sources authorized to generate the merchandise.

FIG. 9 illustrates one embodiment of item information organized into an exemplary data structure 900 . The data structure 900 includes an identifier 902 that allows the user device to recognize that the data structure contains commodity information, thereby allowing the user device to correctly parse the data structure fields. The data structure contains a field 906 that identifies the type of application associated with the item. Each application type can be represented numerically. The application type field may be set to a number representing the application to be used with the item. Field 906 may be set to zero, for example, if the item is not specific to the application. The number structure shown contains a field 908 identifying the location of the item. The location field 908 may identify an electronic repository (eg, a URL Web address) that houses many items, or the location field 908 may be an electronic address that identifies a single item. Optionally, location field 908 may specify a physical store and address where the item may be purchased. The data structure includes a description field 910, which may contain a description of the item. The description field 910 may also contain a multimedia display describing or advertising the merchandise, such as a graphic or video advertisement. Finally, the data structure contains a field 912 that may identify the playback time of the portion of the media program from which the merchandise was derived. For example, a wallpaper item might be a snapshot of a specific scene from a movie. The time at which this particular scene occurs within the movie may be identified in the time field 912 of the digital structure. If the commodity is not related to a specific time within the media program, the value of the media program time field 912 can be set to the maximum value allowed by this field, for example.

The types of applications that an item information data structure may specify may be more or less specific depending on a particular implementation. In one embodiment, the application type field may only be able to differentiate at the wallpaper, screensaver, user interface skin and ringtone levels. In one embodiment, the application type field may be more specific and be able to differentiate between cellular phone wallpaper, desktop computer wallpaper, and pocket PC wallpaper. In yet another embodiment, the application type field may be more specific, and can be, for example, between 640×480 resolution desktop computer wallpaper, 800×600 resolution desktop computer wallpaper, and 1280×1024 resolution desktop computer wallpaper distinguish between. In one embodiment, the application type field can differentiate between an application version of one operating system and an application version of a different operating system. For example, the application type field may, for example, differentiate between Windows Media Player, Windows Mobile Media Player, RealPlayer for PalmOS, Acrobat Reader 4 for Windows, Acrobat Reader 5 for Windows, and Acrobat Reader for PalmOS.

Figure 9 is exemplary and variations of the data structures shown are conceivable. For example, the order and number of fields within the data structure may vary according to the information needs of the user equipment. Additionally, various embodiments of item information may not contain one or more of the particular fields within the data structure shown in FIG. 9 . Those skilled in the art will recognize that there are many ways of implementing the data structure.

In one embodiment, merchandise information may be associated and/or co-located with a media program to which the merchandise information is related. In one embodiment shown in FIG. 10 , a media program may be associated with a pointer 1002 that identifies the storage location of a merchandise information table associated with media program 1004 . The item information 1006 stored in the table may be stored based on one or more fields within the item information data structure. Those skilled in the art will recognize that there are many ways to implement the table and sorting capabilities. For example, table 1004 may be implemented using a multi-dimensional linked list. In some embodiments, it may be desirable to sort merchandise information 1006 based on media program time so that merchandise information related to earlier portions of a media program may appear earlier in the table. In other embodiments, it is desirable to categorize the merchandise information 1006 based on application type so that the types of merchandise available can be more easily organized and accessed.

According to one aspect of the present invention, the distribution facility/server can maintain merchandise information within categories that can have different levels of characteristics depending on the implementation. The categories 1102 shown in FIG. 11 are organized based on categories of user equipment, including a cellular phone category 1104 for merchandise information, a desktop computer category 1106 for merchandise information, and other similar categories. Merchandise information pointer 1108 associated with a media program may indicate where category table 1102 is stored. Within each category, this table may contain pointers to specific item information data structures of the item information table 1110 . Accordingly, specific item information data structure 112 may be referenced by multiple categories within category table 1102 . Thus, if an item information data structure is applicable to more than one type of user equipment, the item information data structure is not duplicated. The category table 1202 in FIG. 12 is organized based on categories of user equipment of a particular manufacturer, including the Samsung ^(TM) Cellular Phone category 1204, the Nokia ^(TM) Cellular Phone category 1206, and other similar categories. As in FIG. 11 , the merchandise information pointer 1208 associated with the media program may point to a storage location of the category table 1202 , and each category may contain a pointer to a merchandise information data structure within the merchandise information table. 11-12, the class table may be organized based on a particular model of user equipment (not shown), including for example the Nokia 1100 cellular phone class, the Nokia 2600 cellular phone class, the Nokia 3220 cellular phone class and other similar categories. When the categories correspond to specific device models, each category may contain pointers to listings for applications supported only for the specific device model. Thus, in one embodiment, the categories within the category table may be based on the applications supported by a particular device model.

Referring now to FIG. 13A and in accordance with one aspect of the present invention, a distribution facility/server may receive a request 1302 from a user device for a media program, or for merchandise information related to the media program. In one embodiment, the request may contain an identifier 1304 indicating the category to which the user equipment belongs. As shown in Figures 11-12, the distribution facility/server may use the merchandise information pointer to access a category table 1306 associated with the requested media program. Based on the user device identifier, a corresponding category within the category table may be accessed to select and provide applicable merchandise information to the user device 1308-1312. In this way, the distribution facility/server may customize the buying opportunities it offers to user equipment by, for example, selecting buying opportunities based on their availability for a class of user equipment.

In a variation of the embodiment of Figure 13A, the distribution facility/server may communicate with multiple user devices. In one embodiment, the distribution facility/server may contain an online/networked interactive program guide in communication with a plurality of user equipment. The networked interactive program guide is operable to receive a request for merchandise information from one user device, and the request may cause the networked interactive program guide to provide the merchandise information to another user device. For example, the server may be a home server containing a networked interactive program guide. User equipment such as user computer equipment, user television equipment, and/or mobile/portable user equipment may be located within the residence and may communicate with a networked interactive program guide within the home server. According to one aspect of the present invention, a user of television equipment may request, through the networked interactive program guide, merchandise information related to a television program and adapted to communicate with a cellular phone within a home server. mobile phone. In one embodiment, the user television equipment may provide the networked interactive program guide with an identifier indicative of the category of user equipment associated with the cellular mobile telephone. Based on the class of the cellular phone of the user equipment, the networked interactive program guide may access merchandise information associated with the class of cellular phone of the user equipment, identify a user equipment class that is in communication with the networked interactive program guide cellular phone, and the product information is delivered to the cellular phone.

Figure 13B illustrates another embodiment of a user device request for a media program or merchandise information related to a media program. The distribution facility/server may receive the request 1314 from the user device. In the illustrated embodiment, the request may include an identifier 1316 indicating the type of application supported by the user equipment. As shown in FIG. 11, the distribution facility/server may access a merchandise information table 1318 associated with a media item through a merchandise information pointer. Based on the received identifiers, merchandise information with supported application types may be accessed and delivered to user devices 1320-1322.

According to one aspect of the present invention, merchandise information may be communicated to user equipment in a number of ways. If the media program is an analog signal, merchandise information may be communicated to the user device within a vertical blanking interval of the analog signal or another suitable interval of the analog signal. In one embodiment, merchandise information may not be communicated within the media program signal, but rather be communicated to the user equipment within an out-of-band analog channel. If the media program is a digital signal, the merchandise information may be communicated in packets within the media program, or may be communicated in packets separately from the media program. Merchandise information may be communicated in an in-band digital channel and/or an out-of-band digital signal according to a digital communication protocol. Those skilled in the art will recognize that existing analog and/or digital communication techniques may be used to communicate merchandise information to user equipment receiving media programming.

In one aspect of the present invention, when the user equipment receives commodity information related to the media program, the user equipment can directly save/store the commodity information in the media program. If the media program is an analog signal, the merchandise information may be maintained/stored within the vertical blanking interval of the analog signal or within another suitable interval of the analog signal. Media programs can be displayed and/or stored for later display. Analog signals may be stored in analog format, or may be digitized and stored in digital format. If the media program is a digital signal, the merchandise information may be interleaved along with the media program information. Digital media programs can be displayed, and/or stored for later display.

In one aspect of the present invention, when the user equipment receives the commodity information related to the media program, the user equipment can separately store the commodity information and the media program. In one embodiment, the user equipment can maintain and organize the received commodity information according to FIG. 10 . In addition, as shown in FIG. 14, the user device may exclude item information of items that cannot be used. The user device may receive the item information 1402 and check 1404 the "Application Type" field of the item information if it exists. A user device may have a list of supported application types. If the indicated application is supported 1406 by the user device, item information may be stored in a table 1408 according to FIG. 10 . Otherwise, product information will not be stored.

The following detailed description in conjunction with FIGS. 15-19B will illustrate various embodiments for informing a user of the availability of merchandise associated with a media program.

The embodiment shown in FIG. 15 includes a display screen 1502 displaying a media program 1504 . The user equipment may have received merchandise information for merchandise related to the media program. If the user device has merchandise information, display screen 1502 may provide an indication 1506 advising the user of the availability of merchandise associated with the media program. Visual indication 1506 may be an icon, text, or another symbol, and the indication may have various display characteristics such as a blinking icon. The embodiment shown in FIG. 15 can be used to inform a user of merchandise associated with a media program at the time of the media program specified in the merchandise information. In one embodiment, merchandise information may be stored within the media program. In one embodiment, item information may be stored in an item information table according to FIG. 10 and may be stored in ascending order based on the media program time field within the item information.

Referring to FIG. 16A, a user device 1600 within the illustrated embodiment can keep track of elapsed time 1602 within a media program while the media program is being displayed. The user device may maintain a merchandise information table 1604 that is categorized according to media program time. The user equipment may pay attention to the current item 1606 in the commodity information table. Initially, current item 1606 may be the first item of merchandise information in table 1604 . A control block 1608 within the user device may compare the media program elapsed time 1602 to the media program time 1610 in the current entry 1606 of the merchandise information table. In one embodiment, if the program elapsed time 1602 is greater than the media program time 1610 in the current entry in the table, the user device may display an indication in the display screen 1612 to inform the user of merchandise associated with the media program. In one embodiment, if the user does not provide any indication 1614 that he is interested in the item, the displayed indication may be removed from the display screen 1612 after a predetermined amount of time. In one embodiment, when the displayed indication is removed from display screen 1612, control block 1608 may instruct item information table 1604 to provide the next item in the table.

Fig. 16B shows a modification of the user equipment of Fig. 16A, the modification including an item information extractor. Merchandise information extractor 1616 may extract merchandise information held within a media program, eg, within a vertical blanking interval in an analog signal or in media program data in a digital signal. Those skilled in the art will recognize that such an extractor can be implemented in a variety of ways. In the illustrated embodiment, the user device may keep an eye on the latest merchandise information 1618 extracted from the media program. A control block 1608 within the user device may compare the media program elapsed time 1602 with the media program time 1620 in the most recently extracted merchandise information 1618 to determine whether to notify the user of merchandise associated with the media program. Figure 17 illustrates one embodiment of the operation of the control blocks of Figures 16A-16B. In one embodiment, the operations of Figure 17 may be performed periodically by the control block.

Continuing to refer to FIG. 16A, as previously described, some commodities may not be related to specific scenes within the media program. For these items, the Media Program Time field 1610 may have the maximum value allowed for this field. Therefore, the media program time field 1610 of such merchandise information will be greater than the final elapsed time 1602 at the end of the media program. In one embodiment, media program elapsed time 1602 may provide an indication to control block 1608 as to when the media program being presented ends. When this occurs, the control block 1608 can access the merchandise information table 1604 to determine whether a current merchandise information item 1606 exists. If so, the user may be notified of any such remaining merchandise information at the end of the media program, for example, as shown in the notification screen of FIG. 18A. As previously mentioned, if the user has not expressed interest in an item after a predetermined period of time, the notification screen may be removed. This embodiment of the control block is shown in Figure 18B.

According to one aspect of the present invention, a user may be notified of the availability of merchandise information related to a media program separately from the display of the media program. Referring to FIG. 19A , a display screen 1902 of an exemplary interaction ("EPG") on a user device is shown. Display screen 1902 is shown already showing current date and time 1904 and also contains program listings area 1906 , program description area 1908 and picture-in-guide (PIG) program display area 1910 . Interactive program guides showing a program listings area, a program description area, and/or a PIG display area are described in, for example, US Patent Application Nos. 6,234,794, 6,563,515, and 6,564,378, which are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety.

As shown in FIG. 19A, the user may be informed of the availability of merchandise information associated with a media program using indications shown within the interactive program guide. In one embodiment, an "EXTRA" indication may be shown within a specific program listing 1912 to indicate that merchandise information associated with that program listing is available. The program listings may be associated with media programs that are scheduled to air at a later time. For example, as shown in Figure 19A, the current time is 12:44pm and the media program "The Sopranos" is scheduled to broadcast on channel 26 at 7:00pm. Even if a media program is scheduled to broadcast at a later time, the interactive program guide may still have merchandise information for the media program by requesting and receiving merchandise information according to FIGS. 13 and 14 . Item information may be organized into a table according to FIG. 10 . In one embodiment, an "EXTRA" indication may be shown within the program description area 1908 to indicate that merchandise information related to the program is available. FIG. 19B shows a display screen of a cellular phone using an interactive program guide. The interactive program guide of FIG. 19B may also provide an "EXTRA" indication to inform the user that merchandise information related to the media program is available. In general, the interactive program guide shown in Figures 19A and 19B may reside on any type of user equipment.

According to one aspect of the invention, merchandise information for merchandise associated with a media program may be tailored to a particular physical location. Referring to FIG. 20 , some mobile user equipment may incorporate location determination technology such as Global Positioning System (“GPS”) 2002 . Other mobile user equipment may not contain location determination technology, but their location may be determined by the network 2004 with which they communicate. Typically, such a network includes multiple communication sites 2004 that collectively use location triangulation techniques to locate user equipment 2006 .

As explained above in conjunction with FIG. 9 , the location field of the commodity information data structure may identify the electronic location of the electronic commodity or the physical location of the physical commodity. In one embodiment shown in FIG. 21A , the item information table can organize item information into different groups, including electronic item group 2104 and physical item group 2106 .

In one embodiment, the user device 2108 and/or the source (eg, distribution facility) of the media program 2102 may determine the location of the user device 2108 and may share location information with each other. The source of media program 2102 may limit communications of physically located merchandise information 2106 to only those communications that satisfy one or more location criteria 2110 . For example, the source of media program 2102 may limit communications of physically located merchandise information 2106 to only those communications located within the same zip code or within an adjacent zip code of the location of the user device 2108, or to Those communications located within a particular radius of the location of the user device 2108. An embodiment of the operation of the media program source 2102 is shown in FIG. 22 .

In one embodiment, user device 2108 may also maintain an item information table 2106 for physical items, or may maintain one or more location criteria 2110 . In this embodiment, a user device 2108 may request and receive merchandise information 2106 from a media programming source 2102 for all or a portion of a physical merchandise. The user device 2108 may process its own listing 2102 to select listings 2106 that meet its location criteria 2110 .

In an embodiment as shown in FIG. 21B , the item information table of the physical item may include default item information 2112 and partial item information 2114 , 2116 . Local merchandise information 2114, 2116 may correspond to a particular physical location, such as a zip code. In the illustrated embodiment, one partial merchandise information 2114 corresponds to a zip code of "10012," and another partial merchandise information 2116 corresponds to a zip code of "10030." Thus, if the user device is within those zip codes, the user may have local merchandise information 2114, 2116 corresponding to those zip codes available. However, if the user device is in an area that does not have local merchandise information, the user may utilize default merchandise information 2112 . The default commodity information 2112 and partial commodity information 2116 can be realized according to the data structure in FIG. 9 .

Continuing with FIG. 21B , if the user equipment is GPS enabled, or the user equipment can request the network to triangulate the location of the user equipment, and the triangulated location can be communicated to the user equipment, the user equipment can periodically or continuously determine its location. An embodiment of the operation of this user equipment is shown in FIG. 23 . The user equipment may inform the user of the availability of merchandise related to the media program being presented in accordance with FIGS. 15-19.

According to one aspect of the invention, as shown in FIGS. 24A-24C, advertisements may be utilized to inform users of the availability of physical merchandise associated with a media program. In one embodiment, the media program may have a designated time period for advertisements, or user equipment may be configured to periodically pause the media program in order to display advertisements. In such an embodiment, the user device may inform the user in an advertisement, such as advertisement 2402 shown in FIG. 24A , of the availability of physical merchandise associated with the media program. In one embodiment, the advertisement 2402 may be based on the item description field of the item information data structure (910, FIG. 9). As noted above, the description field (910, FIG. 9) may contain multimedia content such as video, graphics, and/or text. Commodity information may be stored in a table according to FIG. 10 . This table can be located on the user device or on the server/distribution device. The merchandise information may or may not be related to the media program that was paused to show the advertisement. However, as described above, item information may be selected based on the location of the user device and location criteria. Additionally, the user device or server/distribution facility may select specific merchandise information to display based on different business models. For example, merchandise sellers may pay for advertisements to have their listings prioritized over other listings. Commodity information may be default commodity information (2112, FIG. 21B), or partial commodity information (2114, 2116, FIG. 21B).

According to one aspect of the invention, ad sponsorship announcement 2404 may be utilized to inform users of the availability of physical merchandise associated with a media program. In one embodiment, advertisement 2406 need not be related to the media program shown, but sponsored announcement 2404 and advertisement 2406 may both be related to the media program. For example, as shown in Figure 24B, an advertisement 2406 for the television program M ^* A ^* S ^* H may be shown, and a sponsorship announcement 2404 related to M ^* A ^* S ^* H may also be shown. In one embodiment, the sponsored announcement 2404 may be based on the item description field of the item information data structure (910, FIG. 9). As mentioned above, item information may be selected based on the location of the user equipment and location criteria. Commodity information can be default commodity information (2112, FIG. 21B) or partial commodity information (2114, 2116, FIG. 21B).

In another embodiment, as shown in Figure 24C, the user may be notified of the availability of merchandise information within the advertising area of the interactive program guide. Display screen 2408 shown in FIG. 24C illustrates one embodiment of an interactive program guide that includes one or more selectable advertising areas 2410 in addition to the interactive program guide of FIG. 19A. In one embodiment, the interactive program guide may inform the user of the availability of merchandise information by displaying a description field for the merchandise information within the advertisement area 2410 ( 910 , FIG. 9 ). As mentioned above, item information may be selected based on the location of the user equipment and location criteria. In addition, the interactive program guide or server/distribution facility may select specific merchandise information for display within the advertising area 2410 based on different business models. For example, item sellers may pay an advertising fee to have their item listings aired as advertisements on a regular basis.

The detailed description below in conjunction with FIGS. 25-26 will illustrate the operation of interacting with a user who has expressed an interest in merchandise related to a media program.

As previously described in connection with FIGS. 15 and 18, users may be notified of merchandise associated with a media program. In one embodiment, the user may indicate interest in the item by clicking on an indication displayed on the screen if the user device has a pointer user interface, or by pressing a user interface button associated with the displayed indication.

Referring to FIG. 25, in one embodiment, a user device may display a description of an item on a display screen 2502 (910, FIG. 9), and by providing the user with options to preview an item 2506, purchase an item 2508, or return to a media program 2510, Responsive to user indications of interest. In one embodiment, the preview and purchase options 2506, 2508 are only available if the item is electronically located or accessible by the user device. In one embodiment, if the user selects the "preview" selection 2506, the user device may access the item at the electronic location specified within the item information and present the item to the user. In one embodiment, if the user selects the "Buy Now" option 2508, the user device may communicate with the service provider's shopping service to make a purchase, as described in connection with FIG. 1 . In one embodiment, if the user selects the "exit" selection 2510, the display screen of FIG. 25 may be removed and the display screen may return to display media programming or other content. The display screen may also provide the user with the option to view additional item information by providing interactive arrows 2512 . When arrow 2512 is selected, the item information table may access another item information data structure and provide a corresponding item description to the display screen. Figure 26 shows a display screen showing that the item is not electronically accessible, and the display screen has disabled the "Preview" and "Buy Now" options.

In one embodiment, the screens of Figures 25 and 26 may overlap, with the overlap covering the media program being presented. When the user selects the "exit" option, the overlay may be removed to show the media program. Variations of the overlapping shown are conceivable. For example, the overlay may cover only a portion of the display screen rather than the entire display screen, or the overlay may be translucent.

In one embodiment, if the media program is not being displayed in real time and the media program can be paused, the user device can pause the display of the media program to allow the user to continue expressing interest in merchandise related to the media program without missing the media program. part of the media program.

According to one aspect of the present invention, the above-mentioned system, device and method can be implemented in an interactive media navigation system. An illustrative interactive media navigation system 2700 in accordance with the present invention is shown in FIG. 27 . System 2700 is intended to illustrate the various ways by which various media, and navigation thereto, may be provided to (and accessed by) various user devices. However, the present invention is applicable to systems using any one or subset of these methods, or other methods for delivering media and providing media navigation.

The first method represents a typical TV-centric system where a user can access TV (and in some systems, music) programming. This includes program sources 2702 and distribution facilities 2704 . Media such as television programming and digital music may be provided from programming sources 2702 to distribution facility 2704 using communication path 2706 . The communication path 2706 may be a satellite path, a fiber optic path, a cable path, or any other suitable wired or wireless communication path or a combination of these paths.

The programming source 2702 may be any suitable television and music programming source, such as a television broadcast station or music studio. The programming source 2702 may provide television programming in a variety of formats, high definition and standard definition, eg, 1080p, 1080i, 720p, 480p, 480i, or any other suitable format.

Distribution facility 2704 (also indicated as 802, FIG. 8 ) may be a cable system headend, a satellite television distribution facility, a television broadcast station, or any other suitable facility for distributing video media (e.g., television programs, video-on-demand programs) to , premium programs) and audio media (eg, music programs and music clips) are distributed to corresponding cable, satellite and IPTV system subscribers' equipment such as the user equipment of Figures 1-6. In some approaches, the distribution facility 2704 (also denoted 802, FIG. 8 ) may also distribute merchandise information and/or electronic merchandise such as video and audio clips, web pages, game applications, ring tones, wallpapers, screensavers, user interface skins, and interactive Apps are assigned to users. There are typically multiple television distribution facilities 2704 within system 2700, but only one is shown in FIG. 27 to avoid overcomplicating the drawing.

The distribution facility 2704 (also indicated as 802, FIG. 8) may be connected to various user devices 2708, 2710, and 2712, such as the user devices of FIGS. 1-6. Such user equipment may eg be located at the user's home. User equipment may include user television equipment 2710, user computer equipment 2712, or any other type of user equipment suitable for accessing media, such as the user equipment of FIGS. 1-6. User equipment 2708 may be any type of user equipment (e.g., user television equipment, user computer equipment, cellular telephone, camcorder, gaming platform, etc.), and for simplicity, user equipment may be collectively referred to as user equipment 2708 .

User devices 2708, 2710, and 2712 (e.g., FIGS. 1-6 ) may receive media (e.g., television, music, etc.) from distribution facility 2704 (also denoted 802, FIG. 8 ) via communication paths, such as communication paths 2714, 2716, and 2718, respectively. , web pages, etc.) and other data such as commodity information and electronic commodities in FIG. 8 . User equipment 2708, 2710, and 2712 may also transmit signals to distribution facility 2704 via paths 2714, 2716, and 2718, respectively, where the signals may be associated with operations 1302, 1304 of FIG. 13 . Paths 2714, 2716, and 2718 may be cables or other wired connections, free space connections (eg, for broadcast or other wireless signals), satellite links, and any other suitable link or combination of links.

The second method shown in Figure 27 is a non-television-centric method by which media and media navigation can be provided to the user. Within this method, server 2730 (also indicated as 802, FIG. 8 ) provides media, such as video (which may include television programming), audio, images, web pages, or a suitable combination thereof, to a plurality of user devices via communication network 2726 (eg, user equipment 2708, user television equipment 2710, and user computer equipment 2712). This approach is a non-television-centric approach since media (eg, television programming) is provided and delivered at least in part and sometimes exclusively via such devices that are typically not primarily focused on the television viewing experience. Non-TV-centric devices play a large role in the TV viewing experience.

In some embodiments of this method, communication network 2726 is the Internet. Server 2730 (also indicated as 802, 814, FIG. 8) may provide, for example, a website that is accessible to user devices (eg, the devices of FIGS. 1-6) and that provides users with an online navigation application. In these methods, the user equipment may be, for example, a PC incorporating a web browser or a hand-held device such as a PDA or a network-enabled cellular phone (eg, the device of FIG. 5 ). In other embodiments, the server 2730 (also indicated as 802, FIG. 8) uses the Internet instead of the Web as a transmission medium. Within these methods, a user device may run a client application that enables the user to access media. In still other approaches, communication network 2726 is a dedicated communication network that does not include the Internet, such as a cellular mobile telephone network.

In still other approaches, the communication network 2726 includes a dedicated communication network and the Internet. For example, a cellular phone or other mobile device service provider may enable its users to access the Internet via a dedicated communication network, or may provide media such as video clips or television programs to its users via the Internet and its own network.

The methods for providing media described above may be combined within some embodiments. For example, distribution facility 2704 (also indicated as 802 , FIG. 8 ) may provide a television-centric media delivery system while also enabling user equipment (eg, 2708 , 2710 , and 2712 ) to access other non-television-centric delivery systems provided by server 2730 . For example, the user equipment may include a networked set-top box (eg, 104 of FIG. 1 ) or a PC capable of watching television (eg, 302 of FIG. 3 ). In addition to television and music programming, distribution facility 2704 may also provide users with access to the Internet whereby users may access servers 2730 via communications network 2726 . Distribution facility 2704 may communicate with communication network 2726 via any suitable path 2734, such as a wired path, cable path, fiber optic path, satellite path, or a combination of these paths.

The media guidance application may be provided using any method appropriate to the type of media and server/distribution system using the application. A media guidance application may be, for example, a standalone application implemented on a user device. In other embodiments, the media guidance application may be a client-server application, where only the client exists on the user device. In other embodiments, the navigation application may be provided as a website accessed by a browser implemented on the user device. The exemplary user equipment of FIGS. 1-6 may utilize one or more such media guidance applications. Regardless of the chosen implementation, a navigation application will require information about the media for which the application provides navigation. For example, the title or name of the media, a brief description, or other information may be necessary to allow the user to navigate among and discover desired media selections.

In some television center embodiments, for example, the navigation application may be a standalone interactive television program guide that receives program guide data via a data feed (eg, a continuous feed, a trickle feed, or data within vertical blanking intervals of a channel). Data sources 2720 within system 2700 may include program listings databases used to provide users with television program-related information such as scheduled broadcast times, titles, channels, rating information (e.g., rating and critic rankings), detailed title descriptions, Genre or category information (eg, sports, music, movies, etc.), program format (eg, standard definition, high definition), and actor and actress information. Data source 2720 may also be used to provide advertising and/or merchandise information (806, FIG. 8; 900, FIG. 9) (e.g., program guide advertisements and advertisements for other interactive television applications), real-time data such as sports scores, stock quotes, news data and weather data, application data for one or more media navigation applications or other interactive applications, electronic merchandise (800, FIG. 8) and any other suitable data used by system 2700. As another example, data source 2720 may provide data indicative of the type of indicative information that may be included within an interactive program navigation overlay (eg, at the user's request, lack of user modification, etc.).

Program guide data, such as media programming or merchandise information, may be provided to user equipment, including user equipment located on the home network 2713, using any suitable method. For example, program listing data and other data such as merchandise information or electronic Information provided to user equipment. Schedule data and other data may be provided to user equipment on a plurality of analog or digital television channels. Schedule data and other data may be provided to user equipment at any suitable frequency (eg, continuously, daily, in response to a request from user equipment, etc.). Schedule data or merchandise information may be provided to user equipment from a home server (also denoted 802, FIG. 8 ) via home network 2713 . The home server may be in communication with distribution facility 2704 or communication network 2726.

In some television center embodiments, navigation data from data source 2720 may be provided to user equipment using a client-server approach. For example, a navigation application client residing on a user device may initiate a session with the server 2740 to obtain navigation data when needed. In some embodiments, the navigation application may initiate a session with the server 2740 via a home network server (eg, a server located within the home network 2713 that supports user devices located within the home network 2713).

Although only one data source is shown in FIG. 27 to avoid overcomplicating the drawing, multiple data sources may exist within system 2700 (eg, data source 2700 ). For example, separate data sources may be associated with each of multiple television broadcast stations and may provide data specific to those broadcast stations (e.g., advertisements for the broadcast station's future programming, for display on the program guide display screen Logo data showing the logo of the broadcasting station, etc.). Data source 2720 and any other system components of FIG. 27 may be provided using devices at one or more locations. In Figure 27, system components are drawn as single boxes to avoid overcomplicating the drawing.

Data source 2720 may provide data to distribution facility 2704 via communication path 2722 for distribution to associated user equipment and home network 2713 (described below) via paths 2714, 2716, 2718, and 2719 (e.g., when data source 2720 is located at When inside the main facility). The communication path 2722 can be any suitable communication path such as a satellite communication path or other wireless path, a fiber optic or other wired communication path, a path supporting Internet communication, or other suitable path or combination of these paths.

In some TV-centric and non-TV-centric approaches, data source 2720 may provide navigation data directly to user equipment 2708 via path 2724, communication network 2726, and path 2728 (e.g., when data source 2720 is located at a facility such as a program source 2702 ). In some embodiments of the invention, data source 2720 may provide navigation data directly to user devices (e.g., FIGS. 1-6 ) located on home network 2713 (described below) via path 2724, communication network 2726, and path 2739 ( For example, when data source 2720 is located on a facility such as one of program sources 2702). Paths 2724, 2728, and 2739 may be wired paths such as telephone lines, cable paths, fiber optic paths, satellite paths, wireless paths, any other suitable paths, or combinations of these paths. Communications network 2726 may be any suitable communications network such as the Internet, a public switched telephone network, or a packet-based network.

User equipment, including user equipment located on a home network 2713 (described below), such as user television equipment (eg, FIG. 1 ) and personal computers (eg, FIG. 3 ), may use program listings data and other interactive program navigation application data to display program listings and Other information such as commodity information. An interactive telephone program guide application or other suitable interactive media navigation application may be used to display information on the user's display (eg, within one or more overlays displayed over video for a given television channel). The interactive display (eg, FIG. 25 ) may be generated and displayed to the user using any suitable method. In one suitable approach, distribution facility 2704, server 2730, or another facility may generate application display screens and communicate the display screens to user devices for display. In another suitable approach, the user device may store data and item information (FIGS. 9-10) for one or more interactive displays (e.g., FIG. 25), and the interactions implemented at least in part on the user device The media guidance application may generate an interactive display based on instructions received from distribution facility 2704, server 2730 (802, FIG. 8), or another facility. In some embodiments of the invention, a user device (e.g., the devices of FIGS. 1-6) may only store data used to generate an interactive television display (e.g., store merchandise information only if a logo for a particular television broadcast station is included in the The identification data of a particular television broadcast station is only stored when within one or more interactive television displays). In some embodiments of the invention, a user device may store data that is not necessarily used to generate an interactive television display (e.g., store an advertisement associated with a particular television broadcast station, which advertisement may be displayed based on, for example, a negotiation with the television broadcast station). displayed or may not be displayed). Any other suitable method or combination of methods may be used to generate and display an interactive overlay to the user, such as the overlays shown in Figures 2, 4, 6 and 25-26.

In yet further embodiments, an interactive media navigation application (television-centric or non-television-centric) may be provided online, for example, as a website. For example, server 2730 (also indicated as 802, Figure 8) may provide online interactive media guidance. As another example, user equipment 2708 (eg, FIG. 5 ) may be a mobile device such as a cellular telephone or a personal digital assistant (PDA). The mobile device may be networkable so that the user can access an online navigation application (which may be modified from its original version to be suitable for a cellular mobile phone). Optionally, the mobile device may have an applet that communicates with the server 2730 via the Internet to obtain navigation data.

Server 2730 (also indicated as 802, FIG. 8 ) may receive schedule data and other data (e.g., product information, electronic goods). Path 2732 may be a satellite path, fiber optic path, cable path, or any other path or combination of paths. User device 2708 may access online interactive media guidance applications and other sources from server 2730 via communication path 2728 . User device 2708 may also access applications and other services on server 2703 via communication path 2714 , distribution facility 2704 , and communication path 2734 . For example, user equipment 2708 may use a cable modem or other suitable device to communicate with distribution facility 2704.

User equipment such as user television equipment 2710 (also shown in FIG. 1 ), user computer equipment 2712 (also shown in FIG. 3 ), and user equipment located on a home network 2713 can access online interactive media navigation applications and servers using a similar setup 2730 (also denoted 802, Figure 8). User television equipment 2710 may access online interactive media guidance application and server 2730 using communication path 2736 or using path 2716, distribution facility 2704, and path 2734. User computer device 2712 may access online interactive media guidance application and server 2730 using communication path 2738 or using path 2718 , distribution facility 2704 and path 2734 . User devices located on home network 2713 can access online media guidance application and server 2730 using communication path 2739 or using path 2719 , distribution facility 2704 and path 2734 . Paths 2736, 2738, and 2739 may be any suitable paths such as wired paths, cable paths, fiber optic paths, wireless paths, satellite paths, or combinations of these paths.

In some embodiments, system 2700 may support other interactive applications in addition to interactive media navigation applications. Such application can be accomplished using any suitable method. For example, the interactive application may be implemented locally on the user device, or in a distributed manner (e.g., using a client-server architecture in which the user device acts at least in part and at least part of the time as a client and a server, For example, server 2740 at distribution facility 2704, server 2730, or other suitable device acts as a server). Other distributed architectures can also be used if desired. Additionally, some or all of the features of the interactive applications of system 2700, including media navigation applications, may be provided using operating system software or middleware software. Such operating system software and middleware may be used in place of or in conjunction with application-level software. In still further approaches, the interactive application may also be supported by a server or other suitable device at one or more service providers, such as service provider 2742. Regardless of the specific configuration used, software that supports these features may be referred to as an application.

For example, an interactive application such as a shopping service may be provided by a service provider (also denoted 814, FIG. 8 ) such as service provider 2741 with sales representatives, order fulfillment facilities, account maintenance facilities, and other facilities that support interactive home shopping features. A shopping application using a user device (eg, the devices of FIGS. 1-6 ) can be used to access a service provider to provide these features to the user. User equipment can access service provider 2742 via distribution facility 2704 and communication path 2744 or via communication network 2726 and communication path 2746 . Communication paths such as paths 2744 and 2746 may be any suitable paths such as wired paths, cable paths, fiber optic paths, satellite paths, or combinations of these paths.

Another example of an interactive application is a home banking transaction application. Home banking services may be supported using personal facilities such as service providers 2742 . An interactive home banking application implemented using a user device may access home banking services via distribution facility 2704 and communication path 2744 or via communication network 2726 and communication path 2746 .

If desired, server 2740, server 2730, home network server, or equipment at service provider 2742 such as equipment 802, 814 of FIG. 8 can be used to support interactive media navigation applications such as web-based video recorders or video-on-demand applications. Video-on-demand content and video recorded using a network-based video recorder configuration can be stored on a server 2740 or server 2730 or a home network server or at a service provider 2742 (also denoted 802, FIG. Served to the user when requested. An interactive television program guide may be used, for example, to support the functionality of a personal video recorder (sometimes referred to as a digital video recorder) implemented using user equipment 2708 . Devices shown that may be used to support VCR functionality include dedicated personal video devices, integrated receiver/decoders (IRDs), set-top boxes with integrated or external hard drives, or personal computers with video capabilities.

Interactive applications such as media navigation applications (e.g., interactive television program guide applications and video-on-demand applications), shopping applications, home banking applications, gaming applications, and other applications (e.g., applications related to email and chat or other communication functions, etc. etc.) may be provided as a separate application accessible through a navigation shell application (ie, a menu application with menu options corresponding to that application). The features of this application are combinable. For example, one application or any other suitable number of applications may be used to provide games, video-on-demand services, home shopping services, web-based video recorder functionality, personal video recorder functionality, location-based functionality, program guide functionality, communication functionality, and other suitable function. The one or more applications may display various overlays on the user device, such as displaying interactive television information over video for a given television channel.

Interactive television program guide applications, home banking transaction applications, shopping applications, web-based and personal video recorder applications, video-on-demand applications, gaming applications, communication applications, and location-based applications are only interactive media navigation and system 2700 can support Some illustrative examples of types of other applications. Other suitable interactive applications that may be supported include news services, web browsing and other Internet services, and interactive gaming services (eg, for betting on horse races, sporting events, etc.). Interactive video overlays can also be customized in accordance with the present invention.

A user may have various user devices (eg, the user devices of FIGS. 1-6 ) with which the user may access media and obtain media navigation. For example, some users may have a home network accessed by in-home devices and mobile devices. As shown in FIG. 27, home network 2713 communicates with distribution facility 2704 and server 2730 (also indicated as 802, FIG. 8) via paths 2719 and 2739 (and, in the case of server 2730, communication network 2726). Such a home network 2713 may eg be located within the user's home, or eg be distributed among the user's homes. Each home network 2713 may comprise a plurality of interconnected user devices, such as user devices 2708 , 2710 and 2712 . In some embodiments, a user can control in-home devices via a media navigation application implemented on a remote device. For example, a user may access an online media navigation application on a website via a personal computer at their office or a mobile device such as a PDA or network-enabled cellular phone. A user can set settings (eg, logging, reminders, or other settings) on the online navigation application to control the user's in-home devices. The online guide can control the user's device directly or through a media guidance application with the user's in-home device, such as a home server (also indicated as 802, FIG. 8). The user equipment may be the equipment shown in Figures 1-6.

1-6 show illustrative configurations of user equipment described within interactive navigation system 2700 of FIG. 27 . An illustrative set-top box-based configuration of user equipment 2710 is shown in FIG. 1 . User television equipment 2710 may be standalone, or part of a home network 2713 (FIG. 27). Inputs/outputs 106, 108 may be connected to communication paths such as paths 2716 and 2736 (FIG. 27). Input/output functionality may be provided by one or more wires or communication paths. The inputs/outputs 106, 108 may be used to receive television programming, program guide data, merchandise information, electronic merchandise, and any other suitable interactive media navigation application data or other data. Commands and requests and other data generated as a result of the user's interaction with the interactive media navigation application may also be communicated via the input/output 106, 108.

Set-top box 104 may be any suitable analog or digital set-top box (eg, a cable set-top box). Set-top box 104 may include an analog tuner for tuning to a desired analog television channel (eg, a channel containing television programs, interactive television data, or both). Set-top box 104 may also contain digital decoding circuitry for receiving digital television channels (eg, for channels containing television or music programming, interactive television data, etc.). Set-top box 104 may also contain a high-definition television tuner for receiving and processing high-definition television channels. Analogue, digital and HD channels can be handled together if desired. Multiple tuners may be provided (eg, to handle simultaneous viewing and recording functions or picture-in-picture (PIP) functions). Set-top box 104 may be an integrated receiver codec (IRD) that handles satellite television. If desired, set-top box 104 may have circuitry for handling cable, radio broadcast, and satellite content.

Set-top box 104 may be configured to output media, such as television programming, in a preferred format. Since media programs may be received in a variety of formats, the set-top box 104 may contain scaling circuitry for up-converting and down-converting the media program to the set-top box 104 and/or user equipment such as shown in FIGS. 1-6 The preferred output format used by those devices. For example, set-top box 104 may be configured to output television programming at 720p. In this example, the scaling circuit may up-convert a standard-definition television program with 480 lines of vertical resolution to 720p format, and down-convert a high-definition television program with 1080 lines of vertical resolution to 720p.

The set-top box 104 may contain a storage device (eg, a digital storage device such as a hard drive) for providing recording capabilities. The set-top box 104 may also be connected to a recording device 114 such as a video cassette recorder, personal video recorder, compact disc recorder, or other device with storage capabilities. In some embodiments, set-top box 104 may be configured to record standard-definition television programming or high-definition television programming. In some embodiments, set-top box 104 may be configured to record standard-definition television programming and high-definition television programming.

The set top box 104 contains a processor (eg, microcontroller or microprocessor, etc.) for executing software applications and/or presenting merchandise opportunities as shown in FIGS. 14 , 17 , 19 and 23 . The set-top box 104 may contain memory, such as random access memory, for executing applications or presenting merchandise opportunities, or storing data or data structures such as those shown in FIGS. 9-10. Non-volatile memory may also be used (eg, to start boot routines and other instructions). Hard disk storage within set-top box 104 or recording device 114 may be used to back up data (eg, merchandise information, electronic merchandise) and may support larger database and storage requirements than using random access memory methods. Hard disk storage within set top box 104 or recording device 114 may also be used to store or back up program guide settings, saved user preferences, merchandise information, and/or electronic merchandise.

The set-top box 104 may have infrared (IR) or other communication circuitry for communicating with a remote control or wireless keyboard. The set top box 104 also has dedicated buttons and a front panel display. The panel display can be used, for example, to display the channel to which the set-top box is currently tuned.

The set-top box 104 may also have communication circuitry such as a cable modem, Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN) modem, Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) modem, A telephone modem or wireless modem. Such communications may involve the Internet or any other suitable communications network or path. Components of set-top box 104 may be integrated into other user equipment, such as a television or video cassette recorder, if desired.

Recording device 114 may be used to record video provided by set top box 104 . For example, if set-top box 104 is tuned to a given television channel, the video signal for that television channel may be passed to recording device 114 for recording on videotape, compact disc, digital video disc, or internal hard drive or other storage device. In some embodiments, recording device 114 may be configured to record standard definition television programming or high definition television programming. Recording device 114 may have communication circuitry, such as a cable modem, ISDN modem, DSL modem, or telephone modem, for communicating with other devices. Such communications may involve the Internet or any other suitable communications network or path. Components of recording device 114 may be integrated into other user equipment (eg, television, stereo, etc.).

Recording device 114 may be controlled using remote control 110 or other suitable user interface. If desired, set top box 104 may control video recorder functions of device 114 such as start, stop, record, and other functions. For example, set-top box 104 may control recording device 114 using infrared commands directed to a remote control input of recording device 114, or set-top box 104 may control recording device 114 using other wired or wireless communication paths between set-top box 104 and device 114.

The output of recording device 114 may be provided to television 102 for display to a user (not shown). In some embodiments, television 102 may be capable of displaying high-definition programming (ie, HDTV is available). Multiple recording devices 206 or no recording devices 114 may be used, if desired. If recording device 114 is not present or is not actively being used, the video signal from set top box 104 may be provided directly to television 102 . Any suitable television or monitor may be used to display the video. For example, if the video is in HD, you need an HDTV capable TV or monitor to display it. Within the device of FIG. 1, as well as other devices of system 2700 (FIG. 27), audio associated with different video items is typically distributed with those video items, and is typically played back to the user when the video is played. In some embodiments, audio may be distributed to a receiver (not shown), which processes and outputs the audio via an external speaker (not shown).

In one variation of the user television equipment 2710 (FIG. 27) shown in FIG. 1, the user television equipment 2710 may be standalone, or part of a home network 2713 (FIG. 27). In one example, user television equipment 2710 may include recording device 114, such as a digital video recorder (e.g., a personal video recorder (PVR)), that uses a hard drive or other memory to record video or to store merchandise information and electronic commodity. Recording device 114 may alternatively be a digital video disk recorder, compact disk recorder, video cassette recorder, or other suitable video recording device (not shown). Device 2710 of FIG. 1 may also include television 102 . In some embodiments, television 102 may be HDTV capable. Inputs/outputs 106, 108 may be connected to communication paths such as paths 2716 and 2736 (FIG. 27). Inputs/outputs 106, 108 may be used to receive television programming, program listings data, merchandise information, electronic merchandise, and other data (e.g., advertising data, data indicating one or more television channels for which overlayed displays may be customized, etc. ). Commands and requests from the user, as well as other data such as user device identifiers (1304, FIG. 13) or location information (as shown in FIGS. 22-23) may be communicated via the inputs/outputs 106,108.

Recording device 114 may contain at least one analog tuner for tuning to a desired analog television channel (e.g., displaying video on a given television channel to a user, receiving program guide data and other data), and may also provide multiple tuning device. Recording device 114 may also contain digital decoding circuitry for receiving digital television programming, music programming, program guide data, merchandise information, electronic merchandise, and other data on one or more digital channels. Recording device 114 may also contain circuitry for receiving high-definition television channels. If desired, recording device 114 may contain circuitry for handling analog, digital, and high-definition channels. Recording device 114 may also include a processor (eg, a microcontroller or microprocessor, etc.) for executing software applications. The recording device 114 may contain memory, such as random access memory, for use in executing applications and/or performing purchase recording operations such as those shown in FIGS. 14 , 17 , 19 , 23 . Non-volatile memory may also be used to store boot routines or other instructions. Hard disk and other storage within recording device 114 may be used to support databases (eg, program guide databases or other interactive television application databases). A hard disk or other storage within recording device 114 may also be used to record video, such as television programs or video-on-demand content or other content provided to recording device 114 via inputs/outputs 106 , 108 .

The recording device 114 may have IR communication circuitry or other suitable communication circuitry for communicating with a remote control. The recording device 114 may also have dedicated buttons and a front panel display. The panel display can be used, for example, to display the current channel to which the recording device is tuned.

Recording device 114 may also have communication circuitry, such as a cable modem, ISDN modem, DSL modem, telephone modem, or wireless modem, for communicating with other devices. Such communications may involve the Internet or other suitable communications networks or paths.

If desired, recording device 114 may comprise a satellite receiver or other device having wireless communication circuitry for receiving satellite signals.

Recording device 114 of FIG. 1 may record a new media program while displaying a previously recorded media program on television 102 . This allows the user to press the pause button during normal television viewing. When the pause button is pressed, the current media program is stored on the hard disk of the digital video recorder 114 . When the user presses play, the recorded media program can be played back. This configuration allows users to seamlessly pause and resume programs. Recording device 114 may also be used to allow users to watch previously recorded programs while recording new programs.

The set-top box configuration 104 of FIG. 1 and the personal video recorder 114 with a built-in set-top box variant are illustrative only. Other configurations may be used if desired. For example, user television equipment may be based on a WebTV box, personal computer television (PC/TV) (eg, the equipment of FIG. 3 ), or any other suitable television equipment configuration. If desired, the functionality of components such as set top box 204, recording device 302, WebTV box or PC/TV, etc. may be integrated into a television or personal computer or other suitable device such as the device of FIG.

An illustrative remote control 2800 for operating user television equipment 2710 (FIG. 27) or suitable user computer equipment 2712 is shown in FIG. Remote control 2800 is illustrative only, and any suitable user input interface may be used to operate the user device (eg, mouse, trackball, keypad, keyboard, touch screen, voice recognition system, etc.). Remote control 2800 may have function keys 2802 and other keys 2804 such as keys of a keypad, power on/off keys, pause, stop, fast forward and reverse keys. Volume up and down keys 2806 may be used to adjust the volume of the audio portion of the video. Channel up and down keys 2806 may be used to change television channels and access content on virtual channels. Cursor keys 2810 may be used to navigate on-screen menus or interactive displays such as those shown in FIGS. 25-26. For example, cursor keys 2810 may be used to position an on-screen cursor, indicator, or highlight (sometimes these are collectively referred to herein as a highlight or highlighted area) to express interest in a particular option or other item on a display screen displayed by an interactive television application. interest.

The OK key 2812 (sometimes referred to as a select or enter key) can be used to select an on-screen option that the user has highlighted. In one embodiment, the OK key 2812 may be used to indicate interest in a buying opportunity. For example, when the "EXTRA" icon (1506, FIG. 15) appears on the display screen, the user may press the OK key 2812 to indicate interest in viewing a description of the related item. In response, an interactive screen as shown in FIG. 25 may appear.

Keys 2802 may include a RECORD key 2814 for starting a recording. The MENU button 2816 may be used to direct the interactive media navigation application to display a menu on the user's display screen (eg, on the television 208 or 304, or on a suitable monitor or computer display). INFO button 2818 may be used to direct the interactive media guidance application to display an information display screen. For example, when a user presses the INFO menu 2818 while video for a given television channel is displayed for the user, the interactive television program guide may display a FLIP/BROWSE overlay containing the current programming on the given television channel over the video. Program information. As another example, when a particular program listing is highlighted within the interactive television program listings display screen, pressing the INFO button 2818 by the user causes the interactive television program guide to provide additional program information (e.g., program description, actor information, schedule information, etc.). In one example, pressing the INFO button 2818 while the "EXTRA" icon is displayed (eg, 1506, FIG. 15) causes the interaction screen of FIG. 25 to appear.

The LOCK button 2820 can be used to change access rights. For example, a parent can use the LOCK button 2820 or on-screen options to establish parental control settings for the interactive media navigation application. Parental control settings may be time-based settings (eg, prevent children from watching television during certain hours, such as from 3:00PM to 5:00PM). Parental control settings can also be used to block programs based, for example, on ratings, channel, and program title. Locked or blocked programs (or other media) are typically not viewable until an appropriate personal identification number (PIN) is provided to the interactive media navigation application. Once this PIN is entered, the interactive media guidance application will unlock the user device and allow access to locked content.

The EXIT button 2822 may be used to leave the interactive media navigation application or part of the interactive media navigation application (eg, causing the interactive television program guide to remove the FLIP, BROWSE, or other interactive television overlay from the television screen). In one example, an EXIT button 2822 may be associated with an EXIT option (eg, 2510, FIG. 25 ) within a purchasing opportunity. GUIDE button 2824 may be used to invoke an interactive television program guide (eg, program guide menu screen, program listings screen, or other program guide screen).

The keys shown in Figure 28 are for illustration only. Other keys or buttons may be provided if desired. For example, a music button may be used to access music through an interactive media navigation application. An edit button may be used to edit the stored content (eg, delete a commercial, delete a portion of a video, etc.). Alphanumeric buttons can be used to enter alphanumeric characters. A last or back button may be used to browse backwards within the interactive media navigation application (eg, return to a previous channel, web page, or other display screen). Video recorder function buttons such as play button, pause button, stop button, rewind button, fast forward button and record button can be used to control video recorder functions (local or network based) within system 2700 (FIG. 27). A help button may be used to invoke a help function such as a context-sensitive on-screen help function.

Illustrative user computer equipment 2712 (Fig. 27) is shown in Fig. 3 . User computer device 2712 may be isolated or part of home network 2713 (FIG. 27). Within the configuration of FIG. 3, a user may control a personal computer using a keyboard 3110 and/or other suitable user input devices such as a trackball, mouse 306, touch pad, touch screen, voice recognition system, or a remote control such as remote control 2800 of FIG. Unit 302. Video content such as television programs or web pages with video elements, interactive media navigation application display screens, and purchase opportunity screens may be displayed on monitor 312 (eg, FIGS. 15, 24-26). Television and music programming, media navigation application data (e.g., TV program guide data), video-on-demand content, video playback from network-based video recorders may be received using input/output 304 from paths 2718 and 2738 (FIG. 27). Records, listings, electronic merchandise, and other data. User commands and other information (eg, user device identifier 1304 , FIG. 13 , location information of FIGS. 22-23 ) generated as a result of user interactions with interactive media navigation application and system 2700 may also be transmitted via input/output 508 .

Personal computer unit 302 may contain a television or video card, such as a television tuner card, for decoding analog, digital, and high-definition television channels and for processing streaming video content. Multiple video cards (eg, tuner cards) may be provided, if desired. An illustrative television tuner card that may be used may include an analog television tuner for tuning to a given analog channel, digital decoding circuitry for filtering out desired digital television or music channels from the packetized digital data stream, and HDTV tuner for tuning to HD channels. Any suitable cards or components within computer unit 302 may be used to process video and other content communicated via input/output lines 304, if desired.

Personal computer unit 302 may include one or more processors (eg, microprocessors) for running an interactive media guidance application or a portion of an interactive media guidance application. The one or more processors may also be used to perform buying opportunity operations such as those shown in FIGS. 14 , 17 , 19 and 23 .

Personal computer unit 302 may include a hard drive, recordable DVD drive, recordable CD drive, or other suitable storage device that stores video, program guide data, media programming, merchandise information, electronic merchandise, and other content. The interactive media navigation application and personal computer unit 302 may use the storage device, for example, to provide the functionality of a personal video recorder.

User equipment such as user equipment 2708, user television equipment 2710, user computer equipment 2712, and user equipment located on a home network 2713 (FIG. 27), such as those shown in FIGS. , a home network server, a distribution facility (also denoted 802, FIG. 8 ), and a service provider such as service provider 2742 of FIG. 27 or service provider 814 of FIG. 8 are used together to provide network-based video recording Function. Video recording can be accomplished by storing copies of television programs and other video content on a remote server (e.g., server 2730 or server 2740 or a home network server), or other network-based device, such as a device at a service provider such as service provider 2742 Function.

Video recording may be performed in response to user commands entered at the user device 2708 or at a user device located on the home network 2713 (FIG. 27). Within a personal video recorder configuration, an interactive media guidance application may be used to locally record media programming and related merchandise information on a user device in response to a user's command. Within a network-based video recorder configuration, an interactive media navigation application may be used to record media programming and related merchandise information on a network device, such as a server 2730, server 2740, home network server, or device at a service provider 2742, in response to user commands, or to Virtual records (described below). User commands may be provided to network devices via the communication paths shown in FIG. 27 . Personal video recorder configurations and network-based video recorder configurations can support functions such as fast forward, rewind, pause, play and record.

To avoid unnecessary duplication within a network-based recorder environment, the system 2700 can provide network-based recording capabilities through the use of virtual copies or recordings. Using this approach, each user can have a personal area on the network that can contain a list of user records, media programming, merchandise information, and electronic merchandise. Even if a large number of users list video content as one of their records in their network-based video recorder personal area, the video content only needs to be stored once (or a small number of times) on the network device. Personal settings or any other suitable data may be stored in a user's personal area on the network.

The user television equipment and user computer equipment configurations described above are illustrative only. Illustrative user equipment 2708, 2710, and 2712 (FIG. 27), such as those shown in FIGS. 1-6, and a more general embodiment of user equipment located on a home network 2713 (FIG. 27) are shown in FIG. 29. Control circuit 2902 is connected to input/output 2904 . Input/output 2904 may be connected to one or more communication paths such as paths 2714, 2716, 2718, 2728, 2736, and 2738 of FIG. 27 . Media programming may be received via input/output 2904 (e.g., from a programming source 2702, a server or other device (e.g., 804, 812 in FIG. 8) such as server 2730, a service provider such as service provider 2742, distribution facility 2704, etc.) (eg, television programs, music programs, other video and audio, and web pages). Interactive media navigation application data such as program listing information for an interactive television program guide or merchandise information for purchasing opportunities may be received via input/output 2904 from data source 2720 . Input/Output 2904 may also be used to receive data from data source 2720 for other interactive television applications. A user may use control circuitry 2902 to send and receive commands, requests, and other suitable data (eg, merchandise information, electronic merchandise, user device identifiers, or location information) using input/output 2904 .

Control circuitry 2902 may be based on any suitable processing circuitry 2906, such as processing circuitry based on one or more microprocessors, microcontrollers, digital signal processors, programmable logic devices, or the like. In some embodiments, the control circuit 2902 executes instructions from memory for an interactive media navigation application or other interactive application (eg, a web browser). Memory (eg, random access memory and read-only memory), a hard drive, an optical drive, or any other suitable memory or storage device may be provided as memory 2908 , which is part of control circuitry 2902 . Tuning circuitry such as one or more analog tuners, one or more MPEG-2 decoders or other digital video circuitry, a high definition tuner, or any other suitable tuning or video circuitry or a combination of these may also be included as circuit 2902 a part of. Encoding circuitry (eg, for converting radio, analog or digital signals to MPEG signals for storage) is also provided. The user equipment may use the tuning and encoding circuitry to receive and display, play or record specific television or music channels, or other desired audio and video content (e.g., video-on-demand content or requested network-based or local video recorder playback). Television programs and other video and on-screen options and information may be displayed on the display 2910. Display 2910 may be a monitor, television, or any other suitable device for displaying visual images. In some embodiments, display 2910 may be HDTV capable. Speaker 2912 may be provided as part of the television or as a stand-alone unit. Digital music as well as the audio component of video displayed on the display 2910 can be played through the speakers 2912 . In some embodiments, the audio may be distributed to a receiver (not shown), which processes the audio and outputs it via speaker 2912.

A user may control the control circuit 2902 using the user input interface 2914 . User input interface 2914 may be any suitable user interface, such as a mouse, trackball, keypad, touch screen, trackpad, voice recognition interface, or remote control.

Thus, systems and methods for delivering a media program and merchandise information for merchandise related to the media program to a user device have heretofore been described. Media programs and their associated merchandise information may be located at a server/distribution facility and/or another hosting/distribution system. When the server/distribution facility receives a request for a media program from a user equipment, the server/distribution facility can customize the merchandise information it provides to the user equipment based on the equipment type of the user equipment. When the user equipment receives commodity information, the user equipment may filter the commodity information based on types of commodities supported by the user equipment. Users may be interested in viewing information about physical items and where they can be purchased. The user equipment and/or the server/distributor facility may be able to determine the location of the user equipment. When the server/distribution facility provides item information for physical items to the user device, the item information may be selected to contain only physical items available for purchase at stores, eg, stores located near the location of the user device. The disclosed embodiments and illustrations are illustrative only and do not limit the scope of the disclosed invention, which is defined by the appended claims.

Claims (12)

1. for a method for the merchandise news of media program and physics commodity relevant with media program is provided, said method comprising the steps of:

Receive the media program request being associated with subscriber equipment, wherein, the requested media program being associated with described media program request is associated with merchandise news pointer;

Determine the elapsed time of requested media program;

Based on described merchandise news pointer, identify the merchandise news table of a plurality of physics commodity relevant with the elapsed time of requested media program;

Determine the position of subscriber equipment;

By the described merchandise news table of the described merchandise news pointer access a plurality of physics commodity relevant with the elapsed time of requested media program, wherein, the merchandise news in described merchandise news table is specified the position that can buy described a plurality of physics commodity;

Determine the relative position of the relevant position of each the physics commodity in described subscriber equipment and described a plurality of physics commodity;

Relative position based on definite, selects at least one the physics commodity in a plurality of physics commodity relevant with the elapsed time of requested media program; And

The advertisement delivery that at least one physics commodity with selecting are associated is to subscriber equipment, wherein, the advertisement being associated with at least one physics commodity of selecting is shown and comprises the indication of the position of described at least one physics commodity during the elapsed time of requested media program.

2. according to the process of claim 1 wherein, the position of determining subscriber equipment comprises that use location triangulation calculates the position of subscriber equipment.

3. according to the method for claim 1, wherein, select at least one the physics commodity in a plurality of physics commodity relevant with the elapsed time of requested media program to comprise: the physics commodity of selecting to meet at least one location criteria being associated with the relative position of subscriber equipment and physics commodity.

4. according to the method for claim 1, also comprise the position that redefines termly subscriber equipment.

5. for a system for the merchandise news of media program and physics commodity relevant with media program is provided, described system comprises:

The device that receives the media program request being associated with subscriber equipment, wherein, the requested media program being associated with described media program request is associated with merchandise news pointer;

Determine the device in the elapsed time of requested media program;

Based on described merchandise news pointer, identify the device of the merchandise news table of a plurality of physics commodity relevant with the elapsed time of requested media program;

Determine the device of the position of subscriber equipment;

By described merchandise news pointer, access the device of the described merchandise news table of a plurality of physics commodity relevant with the elapsed time of requested media program, wherein, the merchandise news in described merchandise news table is specified the position that can buy described a plurality of physics commodity;

Determine the device of relative position of the relevant position of each the physics commodity in described subscriber equipment and described a plurality of physics commodity;

Relative position based on definite, selects the device of at least one the physics commodity in a plurality of physics commodity relevant with the elapsed time of requested media program; And

The advertisement delivery that at least one physics commodity with selecting are associated is to the device of subscriber equipment, wherein, the advertisement being associated with at least one physics commodity of selecting is shown and comprises the indication of the position of described at least one physics commodity during the elapsed time of requested media program.

6. according to the system of claim 5, wherein, determine that the device of the position of subscriber equipment is determined the position of subscriber equipment by the position of use location trigonometric calculations subscriber equipment.

7. according to the system of claim 5, wherein, select the Array selection of at least one the physics commodity in a plurality of physics commodity relevant with the elapsed time of requested media program to meet the physics commodity of at least one location criteria being associated with the relative position of subscriber equipment and physics commodity.

8. according to the system of claim 5, also comprise the device of the position that redefines termly subscriber equipment.

9. the method that the merchandise news of media program and physics commodity relevant with media program is provided, said method comprising the steps of:

Receive the media program request being associated with the subscriber equipment of realizing interactive program guide, wherein, the requested media program being associated with described media program request is associated with merchandise news pointer;

Determine the elapsed time of requested media program;

Based on described merchandise news pointer, identify the merchandise news table of a plurality of physics commodity relevant with the elapsed time of requested media program;

Determine the position of subscriber equipment;

By the described merchandise news table of the described merchandise news pointer access a plurality of physics commodity relevant with the elapsed time of requested media program, wherein, the merchandise news in described merchandise news table is specified the position that can buy described a plurality of physics commodity;

Determine the relative position of the relevant position of each the physics commodity in described subscriber equipment and described a plurality of physics commodity;

Relative position based on definite, selects at least one the physics commodity in a plurality of physics commodity relevant with the elapsed time of requested media program; And

The advertisement delivery that at least one physics commodity with selecting are associated is to subscriber equipment, wherein, the advertisement being associated with at least one physics commodity of selecting is shown and comprises the indication of the position of described at least one physics commodity during the elapsed time of requested media program.

10. according to the method for claim 9, wherein, the position of determining subscriber equipment comprises that use location triangulation calculates the position of subscriber equipment.

11. according to the method for claim 9, wherein, select at least one the physics commodity in a plurality of physics commodity relevant with the elapsed time of requested media program to comprise that selector closes the physics commodity of at least one location criteria being associated with the relative position of subscriber equipment and physics commodity.

12. according to the method for claim 9, also comprises the position that redefines termly subscriber equipment.

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